


Your Eyes Like the Blazing Heat of Summer

by mismatched_ideas



Series: It's Easier With You [8]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Drunkenness, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M, Moving, New York City AU, Nonbinary Character, Plans For The Future, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, changes, just a little, why can't these bebes just have a conversation?, yuri's a light weight fite me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-01 08:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11482824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mismatched_ideas/pseuds/mismatched_ideas
Summary: Yuri loves skating. It's their favorite thing in the world and they love it.But the last season had been... hard and they know that they need to change or be left behind. They've passed the point where winning was a necessity to keep them and their family alive. Now they're finally free from the necessity of fulfilling others' expectations and Yuri just wants to show the world who the 'real' Yuri is.





	1. Stagnant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alison](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alison/gifts), [Caroline](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caroline/gifts).



Yakov didn’t know what to make of the very fidgety Yuri sitting across from him and Lilia. Yuri had called them both out of nowhere, asking if they’d meet them for lunch. Of course, neither Yakov nor Lilia was going to turn down one of their favorite students. Neither of them would admit Yuri was their favorite but they would be lying if they said Yuri wasn’t their favorite. While the young skater had done crazy, stupid things in the past it was nothing like what some of the others had. Nothing like Viktor’s impulsiveness or Georgi’s moodiness. Once Yuri got past their teenage years, they’d stopped doing impulsive, stupid things.

“Well?” Yakov looked at the blond worriedly once their food arrived, not used to seeing them so uncertain. The only time he’d seen Yuri like this was the last time Yuri called them together to explain why they left Russia suddenly without so much as a note. Or, Yakov should say, after the second time they left Russia without so much as a note. Then it had been an explanation of their gender and while Yakov didn’t really understand it, he’d respect what Yuri wanted.

“I’m not sure how to tell you this without hurting your feelings.” What a great way to start. “But I think it might be time for me to move on to another coach.”

Yakov was certain that hadn’t been what he expected from the blond. Before either Yakov or Lilia could speak, Yuri continued.

“It’s not because you two are bad coaches… I just think I need something different. This past season I felt… stagnant. I think I need something different. Someone different.” Yuri looked uncomfortable and that, honestly, made Yakov feel less upset. Yuri obviously didn’t want to do this but felt they had to. “Our contract is up and I think it’s a good time to part ways.”

“I don’t believe you’ve stagnated,” Lilia spoke first, her words sharp. Sharper than Yakov thought was necessary. “You still have a long way to go in ballet.”

“I know there’s still more I could learn from you both.” Their subdued response really hit home how much Yuri had grown. Thoughtful and cautious weren’t adjectives Yakov would have used for the Yuri of only a few years ago. Now… they fit. That said, they were still as headstrong as another blond student Yakov had coached. “But it isn’t only about learning. I need someone who can help me break out of what I’ve been for… for my whole life. All my programs are starting to feel the same and I can’t let that happen.”

“It sounds like you’ve thought this out.” Yakov nodded, sure he knew where this was going. “So, when do you leave?”

“What?” Yuri blinked at the older man, “I haven’t even actually asked anyone to coach me yet. And I don't have anywhere to stay and I still need to pack. New York is a long way to move.”

“New York?” Yakov raised an eyebrow and Yuri clicked their tongue, having not meant to let that amount of information out. “So you’ve been thinking about it.”

“I haven’t actually asked him yet.” Yuri grumbled, “So maybe this is premature but… I wanted to give you both a heads up. I was waiting to call until I told you both my plans. You’re both… important people in my life– I mean, to my skating life.” They quickly amended, “I wouldn’t want to just leave.”

Lilia looked less than pleased, her face tight.

“And what about your ballet? I’m sure you can find someone decent enough to replace Yakov but what about me?” Yakov rolled his eyes, knowing Lilia didn’t actually mean her insult. At least he was pretty sure she didn’t.

“I have that covered.” Yuri knew they were only worried because they cared but the blond had thought this out. They had been thinking about it for months and after their poor showing at World’s, they knew it was time.

“Fine, explain your plan.” Lilia crossed her arms, but there was a shake in her voice. Yuri and Yakov both glanced at each other, realizing that maybe she was upset and just didn’t want to show it. Yakov knew it wasn't out of character for her to cover up her emotions with anger.

“Explain my plan?”

“Who, exactly, are you going to ask.”

Yakov hadn’t questioned the who because he already knew who it was. There was only one person who fit the bill as Yuri’s new coach and also lived in New York City. Yakov couldn’t believe that blond idiot he loved so much was going to actually steal Yuri from him.

“Oh, well…” Yuri bit their lip but then looked up, certainty in their eyes. “I’m going to ask Yuuri to be my coach.”

And that sentence was enough of a surprise that it almost gave Yakov a heart attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, yes, we're rolling right into this. 
> 
> For context, this fic starts in late May 2021 and the last one (it was a cold spring) ended late Feb 2021.


	2. Our Family is Built on Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They hadn't been a family for very long, but Yuuri and Viktor were pretty sure their family was perfect.

Normally, a day off would mean and family outing for the Katsuki family but lately, everything had been a bit crazy. ‘Parent and Me’ soccer had started and Viktor was at that with Andrew while Yuuri would drive to Long Island with Noa. It was a bit of a drive, especially because Yuuri had to get there in time after Noa got out of school. Noa had become fascinated with rugby when the Tokyo Olympics were happening. Apparently, she’d been sick at the time and allowed to watch more TV than was normal.

Viktor had secretly hoped she would be interested in skating but Yuuri was a little glad she wasn’t. He knew he’d never want to live up to the legacy Viktor and Yuuri had left. Better she make her own way.

Today, actually, he wasn’t driving to Long Island. This team was a travel team and so half their matches were away. This was going to be Noa’s first match and even though she was younger than a lot of the other kids on the team, she was a starter. Yuuri would be lying if he said he wasn’t ready to brag about Noa’s prowess at every turn. Then again, he’d never say that because instead, he’d probably be bragging about how amazing Noa was at rugby. He didn’t really know if she was that good, he still really didn’t understand rugby very well, but he assumed she must be. Why else put an eight-year-old in your starting lineup?

Yuuri made sure to take a lot of pictures, he’d bought a nice camera for situations like this, including one of Noa getting a score. Goal? Point? Yuuri didn’t actually know what it was called but he knew it was good. Maybe he should have gone with Andrew to soccer, at least he knew how to play soccer. But Viktor seemed as excited as Andrew to learn about soccer, a sport the tall man knew basically nothing about.

By the time they were driving home, Noa’s team had won, it was getting dark and Noa was asleep in the backseat. Briefly, Yuuri thought about how strange it was that he and Viktor had met Noa and Andrew for the first time less than a year ago. He smiled, soft and content because he really couldn’t ask for anything better than what he had right now. He was pretty sure the life Viktor and he had made for themselves was nearly perfect.

\---

When they arrived home, Viktor was cooking dinner while Andrew played in the living room.

“Vitya, we’re back.” Yuuri called.

“ **I’m home!** ” Noa called in Japanese, looking at Yuuri for confirmation she’d said it right. When he nodded, Noa smiled brightly through her still sleepy demeanor. Her smile only broadened when Viktor responded.

“Ah, well, **welcome home**.” Viktor walked over to give Yuuri a kiss on the cheek before hugging Noa and picking her up. He placed her on the counter then turned back to dinner. “How was the game?”

“We won!” Noa went into a long explanation of the game while Yuuri headed over to Andrew, stopping briefly to check Viktor’s phone as it lit up.

“Honey, you have two missed calls from Yakov,” Yuuri called, pulling his own phone out. He hadn’t checked it since he left the apartment to pick up Noa. He was surprised to see a missed call from Lilia and two missed calls from Yuri.

“Sorry baby, can you stop for a moment?” He asked Noa, who nodded and fell silent. “When did he call?” Viktor asked. “Did he leave a message?”

“No… He called almost two hours ago. And I have missed calls from Yuri and Lilia.”

Viktor walked over to Yuuri, looking concerned. “No voicemail?” Yuuri shook his head, “Then it can’t be anything bad.”

“I guess…” Yuuri contemplated his options. “You can go back to what you were doing, I’ll call Yuri tomorrow. It would be too late in Russia to call now.”

“Sounds good.” Viktor kissed Yuuri on the cheek again, heading back to Noa. “Okay, continue.” She seemed uncertain, “Don’t worry, baby, I do want to hear. I was just worried about Dad.”

Yuuri glanced worriedly at his phone one more time before turning to go play with Andrew.

“So, kiddo, how was soccer?”

“It was fun.” He smiled up at Yuuri. He was sitting at the coffee table, coloring what appeared to be a flower. Yuuri wondered if maybe they should have gotten a house instead of a bigger apartment. They could have had a yard and a garden and maybe there would have been sports programs closer to where they lived. “Papa isn’t very good at soccer.”

Yuuri smiled, “No? Why not?”

“He doesn’t know the rules!” Andrew pouted, “And he talks too much.”

“That’s mean, he doesn’t talk too much.”

“Not usually.” Andrew turned back to his paper, “But he talks a lot with the other parents.”

“Andrew.” The boy didn’t look up even though Yuuri was using his ‘tell me what’s wrong’ tone. It was a tone Andrew already knew because he had a tendency of  _not_ tell Yuuri what was wrong. Yuuri worried the boy was already a little too closed off but he guessed he wasn't really one to talk. “What’s actually wrong?” The boy shrugged, “Were you upset because he was talking more to the other people and not paying attention to you.” The boy shrugged, “Andrew.”

“I guess so.”

“You should tell Papa. He’s very social and likes to talk but he doesn’t always pick up on small things.” Maybe it had been a good idea for Viktor to go with Andrew. “So you have to tell him when something is bothering you, okay?”

Andrew looked up at Yuuri and nodded, before turning back to his picture.

“Dinner’s ready!” Viktor called and Yuuri smiled to himself because it all seemed so perfect to him.

\---

“I can’t take it anymore.” Yuuri murmured to Viktor, who was asleep. Yuuri tended to talk quietly to Viktor even when the other man was asleep because it made Yuuri feel less like he was talking to himself. “I have to call them. It’s eight in the morning there, they’re probably awake, right?” There was no response from his sleeping husband but Yuuri nodded anyways. He slipped out of bed with his phone in hand, heading to the living room.

He dialed Yuri’s phone and it rang for a while before someone picked up.

“ _Hello?_ ”

“ _Hey, Yuri. You called?_ ”

“Oh.” Yuri slipped into English. “I didn’t expect you to call so early.”

“I was worried. Is anything wrong?”

“No, no… Nothing’s wrong.” Yuuri waited for the young skater to continue but they didn’t.

“What did you need? Lilia and Yakov also called so we were worried.”

“They called?” Yuri sounded annoyed, “They should’ve waited until I talked to you.”

“Well, we missed their calls too…” Yuuri was left more confused by Yuri's lack of information. He’d expected the blond to be more forthcoming. “You’re sure nothing is wrong?”

“I’m sure… I just need to talk to you. And I guess Viktor too, but mainly you.”

“Viktor is asleep but you can talk to me now.”

“I’d rather use Skype.” How serious was this? “We don’t have to do it now, though.”

“We can. Let me get my laptop.”

“You call me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Yuuri stood and hurried to grab his laptop. He stared at Viktor, almost leaving without waking him before finally doing so. He’d be upset if he missed whatever Yurio wanted to tell them.

“Vitya, honey.”

“Hmm?” Yuuri shook him a little harder and suddenly he was awake. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, don't worry.” Viktor relaxed, concern turning into confusion. “I couldn’t sleep so I called Yuri. They want to Skype with me and I don’t know what's going on but I didn’t think you’d want to sleep through it.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you out there. I just need to put a shirt on.”

Yuuri nodded and hurried out to the living room.

\---

Skype only rang once before Yuri picked up, they looked a little nervous which was strange. It wasn’t like it was the first time either of them had seen the young blond nervous but it was still always a jarring emotion to see on Yuri’s face.

“Viktor, you’re here too.” They commented, seeming surprised.

“I woke him up while I was getting the computer.” Yuuri explained, “What’s up?”

“I’m not renewing my contract with Yakov.”

“What?” Viktor was the first to respond, “Are you injured? Are you retiring? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing like that.” Yuri shook their head, “I just need something different. I’m not growing here.”

“I’m glad you’re telling us,” Yuuri spoke carefully, “But why? It hardly seems urgent information for us.”

Also, why did Lilia call Yuuri? It was one thing for Yakov to call Viktor but even though Lilia and Yuuri had had a surprisingly close relationship while Yuuri and Viktor lived in Russia, it wasn’t like they were _that_ close.

“I need a new coach…” Yuri looked away from the camera. “And, you don’t have to say yes but… Umm…” Yuri clicked their tongue as if they were annoyed with their own ineloquence. “Yuuri Katsuki.” Yuuri started at the sudden loudness of Yuri’s voice. “I would like to request you allow me to train under you.”

Yuuri blinked at the screen and Viktor blinked at Yuuri, both unsure and confused by Yuri's request.

“Can you say that again?” Yuuri asked, wondering if he heard wrong. He’d always assumed that if this day came, and skaters changing coaches wasn’t uncommon, Yuri would be asking Viktor and not him. Why him? He wasn’t sure what he had to offer that was any better than Viktor. Viktor was the living legend, after all.

“Come on, Katsudon.” Yuri's tone was biting in the way that told Yuuri they didn’t actually mean any harm. “You heard me.”

“But why me?”

“You’re one of the best.”

“Viktor–”

“Is old and in less time than him, you beat all his records.” Yuri grimaced, “And I still haven’t surpassed your free program score.”

“Viktor and I sort of work together in our coaching.” They usually took the place of lead coach only during competitions.

“Well? Will you coach me or not?” Yuri seemed to be ignoring Yuuri’s comment.

“I mean, I guess if you really want me to.” Yuuri started a little, “Wait! Are you going to move to New York?”

“That’s the plan.” Yuri seemed to relax, “Thanks. For saying you’d coach me.”

“I mean, it’s what we do.” Yuuri still felt a little unsteady. “I guess we’ll send you a contract once we draft one.”

“Okay… thanks.” They repeated. “I should probably go now. I have some people I need to talk to.”

“Okay. It was nice talking to you.” Yuri nodded before hanging up, leaving Viktor and Yuuri to stare first at the computer screen and then at each other.

“Well,” Viktor started, “that was unexpected.”

Yuuri wasn’t about to say anything dramatic like ‘their perfect world was shattered’ because the addition of Yuri into their bubble was not a bad thing, they were basically family already, but things had definitely changed. Things would definitely be different now.

“Yah… it really was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this fic there will be a one-shot that is sort of an epilogue for this fic but it isn't completely so that's why I've made it stand alone. 
> 
> After that, I'll still write one-shots for this series but I'm planning on making another series that is basically like a sequel arc I guess? It's about the various children everyone has so it's a lot of OCs and so I don't want that to be in this series. The first fic is done (not edited) and it's about Andrew and his best friend, who is the daughter of Seung-gil and Phichit. Then I'll either do one about Noa (with a little bit about one Emil and Mickey's who's got a yuuri --> viktor-esk crush/admiration for Noa. Like I talking, started rugby in order to play on the same field as her one day. Totally decided on that plot w/o realizing that it's just the plot of YOI without the retirement and coaching) or about Mila and Sara's kid and his friendship with one of Georgi's kids. Or maybe I'll do one about one of Leo and Guang Hong's daughters who has a huge crush on her rinkmate. 
> 
> Okay, that's enough of my jabbering. I'll talk more about that stuff later.


	3. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otabek and Yuri have a conversation about the conversation they didn't have.

“You’re moving.” Yuri hated that he wasn’t asking him. It was a statement, almost an agreement, that told them Otabek was no totally happy right now. “To America.”

“Yes…” Yuri would have liked to do this in person but they didn’t have that kind of time, even if it was off season. They needed to figure out when they were moving and how all that was happening. “You’re disappointed.”

“I’m surprised you’re leaving Russia.” Otabek’s words were measured, careful, and that bothered Yuri. Why wouldn’t he just speak plainly? Weren’t they close enough for that? “But if this is what you need, I understand.”

“How about you tell me what’s really wrong?” Yuri crossed their arms and Otabek grimaced.

“It’s stupid.”

“Tell me.”

“We never went to Rome.” Yuri blinked at their boyfriend. Their embarrassed, blushing boyfriend who wouldn’t look them in the eyes anymore. “See? I told you it was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” Otabek glanced up, blushing deeper at the fond look on Yuri’s face.

The thing was, Otabek knew it was stupid to still blush at the looks Yuri gave him. They'd been dating for long enough that it shouldn't send him into such a states but... There was just so much love in the small looks that Yuri gave him that it was hard not to blush. Especially because Otabke wasn't sure whether Yuri meant there to be that much love in their looks. Yuri had never actually said 'I love you' to Otabek and he didn't need to hear it, Yuri's actions and fond looks were enough, but it still affected Otabek like Yuri was saying 'I love you' for the first time, every time.

“We made plans.”

“They weren’t set in stone.”

His eyes were cast down again until Yuri spoke.

“Beka.”

“Yah?”

“We can still go to Rome. Nothing’s changed.” Yuri thought for a moment, “I’m moving off season anyways. Since we weren’t able to go during the season, why don’t we go to Rome before I move? I’ll leave for New York after we spend our time in Rome. That way we can say goodbye in person too.”

“I don’t want to make this harder.”

“Beka, please believe me when I say I want this.” Yuri just wanted to be able to hold him right now, just wanted to cradle Otabek in their arms until his negativity faded. “I want to spend time with you.”

“I know.” Otabek still looked uncertain and Yuri sighed. When the two first met, Yuri never would have thought the other skater would be so unsure about himself and about them. Not that Yuri was thinking about a ‘them’ when they first met.

“What’s up?” Yuri prompted because they were a good S.O. and they knew their boyfriend often needed prompting if he was ever going to say what was wrong. It could be a little frustrating but Yuri loved him for it. Yuri loved Otabek for so many reasons and even the negative things like this still meant so much to them.

“I know we don’t see each other much, because of training, but it just feels like this is so much bigger of a move.” Otabek looked on the verge of clamming up again but Yuri caught his eyes and he smiled a little, though it was strained. “I guess… it’s just a long distance and I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Was Yuri’s response but they had another on their tongue, one they were afraid to say.

Yuri came close to asking Otabek if he wanted to move to New York with them but they held back. For some reason, they found themselves less afraid of Otabek saying no and more afraid of him saying yes.

The things was, Yuri was a little afraid of how committed Otabek was to their relationship. Yuri tried to tell themselves it was because they wanted what was best for Otabek but really it was because Yuri had commitment issues a mile wide. Before they started to realize their feelings for Otabek, Yuri had never noticed their issues but once they became cognizant of the feelings they had for Otabek, the issue of commitment because more noticeable. The only reason Yuri was able to ask Otabek out was that Yuri realized they were more afraid of losing Beka than they were of keeping him.

But now, they were afraid to ask Otabek to move to New York too because they were afraid that was too much. It was something Viktor or Yuuri would do and Yuri just wasn’t them. They’d never be sure of themselves like Viktor and they would never be able to do whatever Yuuri did to beat away his anxiety.

“I can do the trip planning.” Otabek offered, “Just give me dates. That way, you’ll only have to worry about your move and not about this.”

“Thanks, babe.” Yuri hummed tunelessly to themselves for a little, Otabek letting them do so because he liked the sound. “I’ll be going to New York for a little bit soon, to look for apartments, but then I’ll be back in Russia until the move. I’ll know more about the plans once I finish this trip.”

“Sounds good. Do you have a hotel?”

“I did, but I canceled.” Otabek raised an eyebrow. “Two idiots who live in New York were scandalized that I had the gall to try and get a hotel room.” Yuri smiled vaguely. “They really don’t have the room but the two of them get more and more parental with every minute that passes.”

“Maybe they’re just hoping for some free babysitting.” Yuri laughed at that and Otabek smiled. He loved that he was someone who could make Yuri laugh, especially since their laugh was wonderful to listen to.

When their laughter died down, they smiled at their lap with a soft look. “Beka?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For everything.” Yuri smiled up at the camera, the sight melting Otabek’s heart. “For staying through it all and being with me through everything and–” Otabek swore Yuri was getting a little choked up as they paused to cough a little. “Just… thanks for being a good boyfriend and an amazing friend and for always being there for me.”

“Well, the same is true from me to you.” Otabek was blushing because he always blushed when he talked about anything even a little private. “We both put up with a lot from each other and I think we just need to split the difference on this one and say we both might suffer a little for the other and… well… maybe that’s what this means?”

“Maybe.” Yuri didn’t want to argue any of his points. They weren’t sure they’d qualify what they did for Beka as suffering, but they really didn’t care to argue. Or maybe they did, just a little bit. “How about we agree we're both better for having the other?”

Otabek laughed and Yuri mentally scored themselves another win for that. They would never get over the feeling of making their stoic boyfriend laugh. 

“I guess I can agree to that.”

“When did we get so sappy?”

“I blame you.”

“I blame Viktor and Katsudon.”

“So I guess you’ll only get worse from now on.”

“I guess so.”

They smiled at each other for a long time, loving the sound of their banter because it felt safe and made it feel less like Yuri was moving even farther away from Otabek.

“I should probably go.” Yuri sighed, they had other calls to make and packing to get done.

“Yah, probably.” Otabek paused. “Talk later?”

“Talk later.” Yuri nodded and ended their call, wondering if maybe they should have told Otabek they loved him.

They decided it was an alright omission for now since they’d already told him that and one miss wouldn’t ruin them.

Then, their mind moved on because they had some more calls to make and they weren’t really looking forward to them because next up was Mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will these bebs ever learn to talk to each other?


	4. Aunt and Uncles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri is going to be the best what-ever-the-hell-they-are-to-these-kids in the world. 
> 
> Noa and Andrew love their what-ever-the-hell-Yuri-is-to-them, most because they know their papa loves Yuri.
> 
> Viktor and Yuuri love their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't care if it's only 12:30a here, it's the 19th and I'm impatient.

They felt an odd nervousness while standing outside Viktor and Yuuri’s apartment door. They’d never seen this apartment, the last time they’d visited had been in the old apartment. If you could really call what Yuri had been doing ‘visiting.’ It had really been more akin to running away.

“Yurio!” Viktor was the one to meet Yuri at the door and even though he looked kind of tired, the older man looked happy. “Come in. Glad to see you have luggage this time.”

“You’re hilarious.” Yuri stepped inside and took in the entire, large apartment. “This is a nice place.”

“Isn’t it?” Viktor seemed honestly content in a way that Yuri wasn’t sure they could remember him being. “Yuuri? Noa? Andrew?”

Yuuri was the first to appear, looking a little older but happy. At his heels were two kids, the older one was a girl who was already tall for her age and the younger was a reserved looking boy.

Yuri had been on calls with the Katsuki family in the past, but it was always as a group with at least Mila and Georgi. Usually, Yakov and Lilia were there too because Lilia had a soft spot for Yuuri even if she’d never admit it and Yakov couldn’t figure out how to get Skype to work without 'a young person's' help. Yuri suspected Lilia knew how to use Skype but liked to force Yakov to ask for help.

Yuri hadn’t left Russia yet and they were already missing them a little.

“Tedya Yuri!” Noa looked like she wanted to run over and hug him but she didn’t.

“Tedya?” Yuri looked at Viktor because they knew whatever that was, it had to be his idea.

“Well, there isn’t a good term for what you are,” Viktor explained, looking at Yuuri because he still had trouble with English words that were outside of what you’d need in everyday life or a figure skating interview.

“He means, there’s no non-gendered version of aunt and uncle.”

“Okay.” Yuri didn’t say it, but it meant a lot they were always respectful. They knew they should say it to them, but they never could. “So what exactly does it mean?”

“What, don’t recognize it?” Viktor was smiling, obviously proud of himself. “I mixed together _tetya_ and _dyadya_. Isn’t it perfect? They’ve got a _tetya_ , a _dyadya_ , and a tedya!” With a laugh, he added, “Not to mention about three hundred other aunts and uncles.”

Yuri smiled, “It’s great, Viktor.”

“It’s because I’m so great.” Yuuri rolled his eyes and so did Yuri. Finally, Viktor turned his eyes towards the two packages in Yuri’s hands. “What are those?”

“For them.” They nodded their chin towards the kids, cringing at their own awkwardness while the kids blinked at them. “For Andrew and Noa.”

They handed the gifts to their recipients, who both looked a little unsure.

“Thank you.” Noa smiled, nudging Andrew until he repeated the thank you.

“You can open them now.”

Noa opened hers quickly, marveling at the rugby ball they’d gotten her. Yuri had honestly been stumped with her, the only thing they knew was that she’d gotten really into rugby and was apparently good at it. Her last match was tomorrow and Yuri was planning to take a day before starting their apartment shopping to tag along. After watching rugby in the Olympics Yuri had also gotten pretty into rugby even if Yakov forbid them from ever playing it.

“Thank you, thank you!” Noa was buzzing with excitement and for a moment Yuri thought about how she seemed pretty similar to Minami Kenjirou.

Andrew was more subdued in his opening of the gift, which was probably good because his was a small plant.

“It’s a flower,” Yuri told to him. “I heard you liked flowers.”

Andrew smiled, just a little but it was a smile, and Yuri felt something they might describe as pride. They were going to be the best Aunt-Uncle-Tedya.

“Thanks.”

“Wow, he’s more subdued than you Katsuki.” Yuri paused, remembering that they were the only non-Katsuki in the room. “Guess I’ll have to call you Katsudon again. There’s too many Katsuki’s now.”

“Or you could call me by my name.” Yuuri offered even though he wasn’t particularly offended by Yuri’s nicknames. It was only fair since Viktor, all well as Yuuri's entire family, still called Yuri 'Yurio.' And Katsudon was one of the nicest of Yuri's nicknames for Yuuri which ranged from sweet to mean. Luckily, they'd mostly stopped with the mean ones after they turned sixteen. Mostly. 

“Maybe when you two start using mine.” There was no actual heat in Yuri's comment. They'd stopped being bothered by the nickname years ago and, anyway, it was rarely used anymore. Yuuri's family called them Yurio and occasionally Viktor did as well but Yuri didn't mind. They knew, especially with Yuuri's family, it was meant as a sign that they were part of the family. And that meant a lot to Yuri. 

“You know,” Viktor was smiling, looking both at the kids and Yuri. “It’s sort of a special day since it’s the first time you three have met. Maybe we should go out for dinner?”

“Really?” Noa seemed to be constantly buzzing with a cautious sort of excitement that tired Yuri out just watching her. It was probably why she was good at rugby.

“Really.” Yuuri was the one who answered and Yuri almost rolled their eyes. The two of them were really too much of a matching pair sometimes. “Yuri, you’re up to it, right?”

“Of course, I’m not old like you two.”

Viktor scooped up Noa while Yuuri went looking for Andrew’s shoes. Yuri was struck but how totally at ease the two seemed with this life even though it hadn’t been that long that they’d lived it.

They smiled when they thought nobody was looking, glad Yuuri and Viktor had figured it out.

\---

“So, have you been working on anything for this year’s Grand Prix?” Yuuri wanted to groan when Viktor finally brought up skating. He’d hoped they could at least have one meal before talking about it. He was pretty sure Yuri had hoped the same thing, based on the look they gave Viktor.

“I’ve been working on it.”

“And how’s it coming?”

“I was hoping to go over some of the elements with Yuuri while I was here.”

“Yurio.” Viktor whined, Yuri rolling their eyes at him. “What about me? Didn’t I give you a great senior debut?”

“It was fine, but that’s not what I’m looking for.” Yuri looked at their dinner, “Surprising people isn’t the only thing I want to do. I need to show them something new.” He paused, “I guess that’s sort of like surprising them but… that’s never been what you’ve done. I want to… reinvent my image and Yuuri knows how to do that.”

“You do know I–”

“I know.” Yuri snapped back at him, sighing to calm themselves down. “Sorry… I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

“Yuri, don’t tell me you’re trying to figure things out all by yourself again.” Viktor poked the young skater in the arm, earning him a glare.

“What Viktor is trying to say,” Yuuri gave his husband a pointed look, “Is we’re always here to talk.”

“I know.” Yuri bit their lip, turning to look at their own food. “Just… not right now.”

Yuri had so many doubts but they knew they couldn’t keep skating the way they had been. They’d been skating in the way people expected while still surprising them. They were graceful and perfect but most of all they were a he and they couldn’t do that anymore, couldn’t lie to everyone and to themselves.

“Yuri, honey?” Yuri realized they’d had a particularly hard grasp on their fork. As they turned to give Yuuri a look, they made sure to loosen their grip.

“Honey?”

“Sorry, habit.” Yuuri blushed and Yuri couldn’t help but roll their eyes.

“Whatever.” They smiled at the kids who’d been sitting silently between Viktor and Yuuri. “Okay, let’s hear about you two.”

“Us?” Noa glanced at Yuuri as Yuri shoved food in their mouth.

“Yah.” Yuri paused to chew when Yuuri gave them a particularly parental look, swallowing so they could continue. “I watched a bunch of rugby during the last Olympics and it seems pretty awesome.”

Noa looked unsure for another moment but when nobody spoke and instead the adults just looked at her, she broke out into a smile and was off. She talked about everything from the rules, Yuri learned they were called laws, to some famous players to how her team was doing. She talked for a long while, Yuri nodding and speaking at all the right points, before finally falling silent and allowing Yuri to ask Andrew some questions too. After a few questions, they got out of the boy that he was playing soccer and then Yuri had an easy time getting the small boy talking.

Yuuri and Viktor hadn’t expected Yuri to be a disaster with the kids by any stretch of the imagination, but they didn’t expect much given Yuri’s lack of interaction with children. Later, Yuri explained that they’d helped Yakov and Georgi more than once with the kid’s classes when one of the two couldn't stay. The blond told them they’d been annoyed at first, wanting to focus on their own skating and ballet, but quickly warmed up to the children, going so far as to ask Lilia to let them help with the introductory ballet classes.

By the time they got home, it was late and when Yuuri pulled into their parking garage he realized he was the only one awake in the car. Viktor had fallen asleep in the passenger’s seat, he was prone to do that, and in the back, the two kids had fallen asleep against Yuri, who’d elected to sit in the middle when both kids said they wanted to sit next to 'Tedya Yuri.'

Yuuri almost wanted to drive around for a little longer but opted to take a picture before gently waking up his family.


	5. Brothers and Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otabek is trying his best to figure out what they were. Yuri is trying their best to keep themselves together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [7.19 11:20] I was editing in AO3 and accidentally closed the tab and I lost everything... I'm crying I don't want to do that all again... Of course, I rewrote a lot of this chapter too...

Viktor was glad for his early rising because otherwise, he would have missed the sound of his phone ringing at six in the morning.

“Hello?” Viktor answered, a little groggy as he drank his first cup of coffee.

“Viktor, I’m sorry if I woke you. This is Otabek.”

“Otabek?”

“I apologize for–”

“You didn’t wake me up.” Viktor’s eyebrows were knitted together as he tried to come up with a reason Otabek would be calling him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Viktor could hear the lie in Otabek’s words but let him be. “You gave me good advice when we last talked and I needed some advice now, so I thought I’d go to you.”

“I’m flattered you think I can help.” Viktor felt uncertain. He wasn’t exactly a wellspring of good and well-planned decisions.

“I don’t know how to get Yura to talk to me.”

“What?”

“Yura never mentioned that they were even thinking about moving from Russia until after they’d already talked to you guys and I feel like I was the last one to find out.” Otabek sighed on the other end of the line. “I thought I was someone they could confide in but apparently not.”

“I doubt that’s what Yuri was thinking. Yurio and Yuuri are very similar in a lot of ways.” Viktor hoped he could properly explain what he was thinking but, knowing himself, he was sure he’d fail. “I think Yuuri and I both thought that if Yurio ever wanted to change coaches, and many people do so it wasn’t that big of a surprise, that it would be me they’d ask. I don’t mean that as a brag, I just mean that it seemed like the most likely choice. But when they asked Yuuri… well, it made a lot of sense. I think Yurio relates to the way Yuuri has had to reinvent himself."

Viktor paused, gathering his thoughts. He'd been mulling over this very thing since Yuri called but still wasn't totally sure he knew how to put it into words.

"Yuuri and Yurio both try to do everything on their own but not in the same way I do or, I think, that you do. I don’t tell Yuuri what’s bothering me because I don’t like burdening other people. Yuuri doesn't tell me what’s bothering him because he doesn’t want to be seen as weak and, in a lot of ways, Yuri is the same way.” Viktor thought for a moment, before sighing. "Then again, I think it might be different with you."

“I–” Otabek paused, “I’m not sure I follow your point.”

Viktor laughed, “Yah, me neither.”

He was floundering, searching for the place he got his previous sage advice from. What had he told Otabek then?

“Do you remember what I told you last time we talked?”

“To talk to Yura.”

“And what are you doing right now?”

“Not talking to Yura.”

“Maybe you two need to learn to talk to each other.” It scared Viktor how similar these two were to him and Yuuri. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it really seemed like there were too many similarities between them. He also wasn't sure if those similarities encompassed any actually good traits Yuuri and Viktor had. 

There was a long pause on Otabek’s end and Viktor could practically hear the younger man deciding whether or not to say what he was thinking.

“I know we've officially been dating for barely over a year but I thought the next time one of us moved… I guess I thought we’d move together.”

Viktor smiled, remembering how serious and stoic he'd assumed Otabek was when they first met. If Viktor hadn't gotten to know Otabek, thanks to proximity and their shared friendship with Yuri, he would still think he was just an indifferent man who only cared about skating. Now, though, he found that Otabek's stoicism was a product of moving around a lot when he was younger and not making many meaningful connections until later in life. And he'd learned Otabek was almost as big of a sappy idiot as Viktor.

Maybe the two of them were more similar than Viktor initially suspected.

“Did you ever talk to Yuri about that?”

“No… I know it was stupid to assume that but… I always think we’re on the same page but that’s never the case and then I end up making everything worse. I know I shouldn’t assume Yura can read my mind but it’s hard.”

Viktor thought for a moment, then decided on something that might be a bad idea but he was a big fan of bad ideas as long as they were in the name of love.

“Just talk to Yuri… and, you should know that while Yuuri is currently pretty booked with coaching now that he’s got Yuri, I’ve still got an open spot.”

“Umm… thank you, I don’t–”

“Well, I’ve got to go now. I’m sure I’ll talk again soon.”

“Oh, okay… Bye.”

“Bye.” Viktor put his phone down on the table, wondering if that has been a stupid choice.

\---

Yuuri would be lying if he said he found Yuri’s soccer mom-esque cheering anything but adorable. They were just so into the game and even if their shouting was a little embarrassing, Yuuri couldn’t help but find it endearing.

Yuri barely even noticed they were really the only one shouting until there was a pause in the game and they realized how many people were staring at them. When three teenagers approached them, Yuri was sure the girls were going to chastise them.

“So, you here for you brother?” One of them asked, surprising Yuri.

“Ah, no, my niece.”

“Aren’t you a little young to have a niece?”

“Not really, she’s only eight.” Yuri pursed their lips, “Is there something you need from me?”

“Just chatting.” One of the other girls chimed in with a giggle. “I’m Georgia, by the way. And this is Amy and Ava.”

“I have a boyfriend.” They informed the girls, “And, anyway, I think I’m a little too old for you.”

“Ah, all the hot ones are gay.” The first girl, Amy, lamented.

“Wait!” Ava, the only one who hadn’t talked as of yet, looked up from her phone. “I recognize you.”

“What?” Amy looked excited, “Who is he?”

Yuri barely stopped themselves from flinching away. At this point, it seemed stupid that hearing he would affect them at all, they'd spent their whole life with it, especially since the people they cared about didn't use it. Even so, there was something demoralizing about hearing it, especially from a complete stranger. Maybe it was because it made they feel like they'd never be seen as anything but male.

“You’re Yuri Plisetsky.” Ava looked at her friends, looking excited. “He's, like, a genius ice skater. He came in second at the last Olympics and he was only, like, sixteen.”

It was going to drive them crazy and Yuri knew their plan was a good one. They needed to do this, for themselves.

“Hey, girls, are you bothering my brother?” Yuri glanced back at Yuuri, who was smiling at the girls but it was the smile that Yuri had long since learned meant he was ready to murder someone.

“Wait!” Ava gasped, “If you’re Yuri Plisetsky, then you must be Yuuri Katsuki!” Her friends raised an eyebrow at her and Ava sighed dramatically, “Olympic gold in 2018? One of the most amazing comeback stories of the twenty-first century? Come on you guys!”

“That’s very kind of you, but that’s a bit much.” Yuuri’s body softened a little but his smile was still mildly terrifying. “Now why don’t you stop bothering Yuri.”

“Sorry!” Ava seemed honestly sorry, but Yuri guessed it hadn’t really been her idea to come over and attempt to flirt with them. “Come on, you guys.”

When they scurried away Yuri let out a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding, “Thanks.”

“You were uncomfortable.” Yuuri smiled, "Sorry about 'brother,' I didn't want to, umm, out you or anything."

Yuri laughed because they knew that for as intrinsically male as 'brother' was, Yuuri didn't mean it like that. They knew that Yuuri meant it for everything the word meant other than male and that meant the world to Yuri. 

Yuri had grown up with a small family, tiny even, and they spent a lot of time away from Mom and Grandpa. On top of that, there was always something stressful about their family because they knew that Mom was especially dependant on them. They'd always wished for a 'real' family, one with siblings and cousins and more than one parents and a grandparent. And somehow, when they weren't paying attention because for a long time skating was the only thing they paid any attention to, they found themselves the family they always wanted.

When they moved, Yuri would miss Mila and Yakov and Lilia and Georgi. They'd miss Grandpa and Mom. They'd miss everyone in Russia but they still had a family here because their family was large and global now.

Yuri had trouble admitting it out loud, but everyone in their family meant the world to them. 

"It's fine."

“After your fan girls in Russia, I thought you’d be used to this.”

“You’d think so.” Yuri bit their lip.

“But that’s not what was bothering you, was it?”

There was a long pause in which Yuri tried to decide what to say and how to say it. They didn’t want to seem… well, they didn’t want people to know how much it bothered them because it felt like it shouldn’t. The people in their life who mattered knew and respected them so why did the opinion and views of strangers mean so much?

Perhaps worrying about strangers' opinions was just in the job description of a professional athlete or maybe it was just in Yuri's blood but they were sure they knew one thing: it would be better to be outwardly questioned and disrespected than to pretend they were something they weren’t.

Or, maybe, that was just what they hoped.

“The season Viktor first coached you, you reinvented your image.” Yuuri waited for more because he knew more was coming. “You’re a great skater and a great dancer but the biggest reason I wanted you to coach me is that I don’t know how to show people who I am. Your free program from that season was amazing and it told a story about who you were. Your short program also told a story about who you were. Every year after that, that was the thing that stuck out. Everyone talked about how you’d learned the art of surprise from Viktor but that wasn’t it. The thing that struck me was how much of you was in every program. They weren’t surprising because they seemed out of character, they were surprising because they were so different and yet all felt like _you_.”

Yuri took a moment to shout a cheer at Noa, not wanting the girl to think they’d stopped watching.

“Are you saying you want them to know who you are?”

“There are already whispers, people talking about things as hypotheticals but nobody wants to talk too loud because they all think they’re wrong. A lot of them are wrong.” Yuri took a deep breath and looked at Yuuri because the only way they’d go through with this was if they made the plan real with words. “I’m not doing this as a way to get cheap points or whatever, I want to do it because I’ve spent my whole life skating how everyone else thinks I should but I don’t have to do that anymore. I don’t need the money and I don’t need the acceptance. I came in third at European and World Championships and it’s not because my skating was bad and it wasn’t because my programs were bad. I just… I couldn’t make them work and when I’m facing JJ and Otabek and Kenjirou, technical scores aren’t enough.”

Yuri was well aware they still hadn't said it as they paused again to cheer on Noa, who’s team was close to getting a try. Yuuri and Yuri both stopped to watch, Yuri screeching out a noise that made Yuuri worry he'd go deaf in one ear when Noa scored a try.

“She’s good.” Yuri smiled, giving her a thumbs up when she looked over at them. “They’re both sweet kids.”

“I love them both.” Yuri looked over and was almost a little jealous of the soft look on Yuuri’s face. Except... they were pretty sure they'd seen Yuuri give them the same look so maybe they were that jealous. 

“I want to… come out this season.” Yuri said, still watching the field because it was easier that way. “And I want my free program to tell the story of… well of how I figured this all out. I want it to be about me, not about what people think I am or what will make a good program. For once in my life, I have the option of not caring if I win or not.”

“Well, kid.” Yuri gave him a look for that but Yuuri only smiled. “We’re here for you all the way.”

“I know.” Sometimes they forgot how nice it felt to say these things out loud. “Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you all know "...he was a big fan of bad ideas as long as they were in the name of love." is top ten of sentences I've written in my entire life.
> 
> \---
> 
> Also, you should all know 3/4 of the reason I picked rugby is that I fucking love rugby. It's a kind of stupid sport but like in the best ways. The rules– oh sorry, _laws_ are silly and like it's a gentleman's sport even though would wear no padding and try to murder each other. I love rugby so fucking much don't even get me started on how stupid the idea of rugby sevens is because who was like 'what if we took rugby but only played it for fourteen minutes so mismatched gets really confused why this is already over even though they just turned it on?'
> 
> In conclusion, I fucking love rugby. I mean watch [this](http://www.express.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/790086/Best-try-rugby-history-Waikato-Chiefs), way cooler than [American] football, am I right?


	6. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New friends can be close friends.

They watched the short skater for a little from the stands before heading down to the edge of the rink.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Yuri called, scaring the skater enough to almost sending them to the ice. “It’s May.”

Not that they could say much. They’d come over here with the same plan in mind after Yuuri and Viktor said that nobody rented the ice at this time. After some time skating at that rink, Yuuri and Viktor had become good friends with the owners and as long as there was nothing else going on, their students were allowed to skate without paying. Yuuri and Viktor assured Yuri they’d also be welcome.

“Yuri!” Avery smiled and skated over, “I didn’t know you were visiting.”

“Apartment hunting.” They told Avery, “I’m moving to New York soon.”

“Really?” They looked pretty shocked by this news, “Are you going to be training here?”

“Sure am.” Yuri leaned against the barrier, thinking that even though they’d met Avery a year ago they were already looking a lot older. Kids growing up fast and whatnot. “What are you doing here in May?”

“Training doesn't end.” They smiled again, “And I need to get ready for my first senior season.”

“First senior season!” Yuri felt strangely old hearing that. It wasn’t like they’d known Avery that long, they just always felt like Avery was so young. “I thought you were, like, ten.”

“Very funny.” They punched Yuri lightly in the shoulder, the force enough to send them backward on the ice a little. Yuri laughed at them, and Avery only pouted. “I’m fifteen, okay! And I’ll be sixteen in August.”

“Well, good luck. Though, I guess I can tell you that later.” Yuri smirked. “Too bad you’ll never win gold with Mila in the running. She’s pretty much the best Russian skater after me and everyone knows the Russian skaters are the best.”

“You’re an idiot.” Avery skated over to the exit, putting on the skate guards they’d left nearby before heading to the benches. “And you’re full of yourself.”

“I’m only telling the truth.” Yuri stayed where they were, leaning against the barrier.

“Yah? I’m pretty sure Coach would say something different.”

“And which one is Coach?” Yuri asked because they honestly couldn’t say which of them would argue with that statement. Viktor was awfully fond of a certain Japanese skater.

“Yuuri.” Avery smirked, “But I guess Viktor would also say the same.”

Yuri pulled themselves up onto the barrier, perching there and looking at Avery in the dim light. They were surprised by how confident Avery looked every time Yuri saw them.

“He does like Yuuri a little.”

“Speaking of which.” Avery’s smirk looked wicked, “I overheard something interesting about you.”

Yuri groaned, “What did they say?”

“I just heard Coach telling Viktor about you going to Rome with someone. Who is it?”

“Seriously, you don’t know?” Yuri thought it would be a pretty easy guess. They didn’t have that many friends and most of those friends were at least dating someone. Most were engaged. “We’re not officially public, but I am dating someone.”

“Come on, Yuri, you gotta’ tell me,” Avery whined. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear. I thought we were friends.”

“God, you remind me of Mila.” That actually made Avery perk up a little, “That wasn’t supposed to be a compliment.”

“You’re the one who just said she was the best Russian skater after you.”

“I meant personality-wise you two are similar, which wasn’t a compliment.” But of course, it kind of was because Mila was basically Yuri’s big sister and also probably his closest friend after Beka. “But, yah, I’m dating Otabek Altin.”

“No way!” Avery practically shouted, “I mean, I see it, but how’d you get someone so hot?”

“Avery!”

“What?”

“He’s like, what? Ten years older than you?”

“It’s like eight.” They stuck their tongue out, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t think he’s hot.”

“Shut-up.” Yuri felt heat rising in their cheeks. “And there’s more to him than how he looks.” Yuri looked up at Avery before quickly adding, “Not like that! Avery, you’re fifteen, stop!”

Avery only laughed, “Okay, first of all, I’m fifteen and you know better than me that I’m not some innocent child. Second, I wasn’t even thinking that you pervy old ass.”

“I’m not that old!” Yuri protested, laughing anyways. They liked talking to Avery, even if the two of them had not been very good about communication since they met. Yuri liked how it felt to be a sort of older sibling to someone. They were starting to understand why Mila insisted on acting like their older sister.

“Five years is a lot, Yuri.”

“Fine, guess I’ll have to take my role as older sibling more seriously then.” Avery rolled their eyes but was still smiling, “I let you interrogate me on Beka, now what about you?”

“You call him Beka? That’s adorable.” Avery commented, half because they actually wanted to make that comment and half to ignore Yuri’s question.

“I can call my boyfriend whatever I want.” Yuri raised an eyebrow, “Now why are you ignoring my question?”

“What was the question?”

“Dating anyone?” They shook their head. “Interested in anyone?”

At this, Avery shook their head but they were blushing and so obviously lying.

“Avery, come on, you can tell me.”

“It’s nothing.” They muttered, “They don’t even like me so it doesn’t matter.”

“You sound like me.” Yuri looked up at the ceiling like they were thinking. “That’s exactly what I said about Beka.”

Avery sighed, giving up quicker than Yuri might have at their age. “She skates here and we’re barely friends so I don’t want to mess things up. I don’t know how she leans but I’m pretty sure she’s straight.”

“Well, I’m moving here so you point her out and I’ll see if she likes you.” Yuri smiled when Avery rolled their eyes.

“Didn’t you just admit you can’t tell that stuff?”

“It’s different when it’s someone else,” Yuri insisted. “Besides, who else are you going to ask? Viktor?”

“Hell no.” Avery almost shuttered, “If I was going to talk to anyone, it would be Coach Yuuri. He’s way more tactful.”

“So is Yuuri rink mom or rink dad?” Yuri knew they should get skating or head back home, but this was nice. They so rarely had time to just talk and joke around with someone. Avery had been introduced to them at one of Yuri’s lowest points so it was hard to not feel comfortable with the teenager. Yuri wished they’d had someone like this growing up. Someone they felt comfortable talking to and who didn’t care who Yuri was as long as Yuri was just themself.

“Both.” Avery started to take their skates off but Yuri waved them off. “Viktor is sort of rink uncle. Sometimes he’s the fun uncle and sometimes he’s that rich scary uncle who’s really strict.”

Yuri laughed wholeheartedly at that, “That sounds like Viktor. He can get scary when he gets into the zone. That’s why he needs Yuuri around. They balance each other.”

“They do.” Avery’s smile softened, “They’re damn lucky.”

“It’s amazing they found each other.” Yuri paused for a few moments, “If you want to keep skating, I was going to do some practicing too. We could work together.”

Avery jumped up at this and Yuri chuckled, telling the younger skater to stretch again while they got their skates on and stretched too. While Yuri was lacing up their skates they threw Avery an apology.

“I’m sorry for not really keeping in contact, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past few months and you probably could have helped. But it’s been frustrating so I haven’t really been talking to anyone.”

“It’s fine.” Avery was turned away from Yuri as they stretched so they couldn't be completely sure how they were feeling. “I wasn’t much better… I didn’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not a bother. I mean, you’re really the only one I can talk to about… this stuff.”

“Is that what’s been bothering you?” Yuri blinked at them. “I always watch you skate and I could tell something was off. Everyone could and not just because you weren't scoring as well as usual."

“I’m trying to be more true to myself.” Yuri half-confirmed Avery’s suspicions but didn’t completely admit their plans. “This season I’m going to plan a free program that’s about the real me, not the me everyone expects. I’ve finally reached the point where I don’t need to win every competition and so I don’t need to be exactly what people expect.”

“I’m happy for you.” Yuri stood to start their stretches, “It’ll be good for you, I think. I came out a few years ago and it felt good even if sometimes it can suck.” Avery glanced at Yuri stretching next to them, trying to give advice for something that Yuri wasn’t admitting they were planning to do. “The announcers will get it wrong. Sometimes by accident, sometimes because they don’t care, and sometimes on purpose.”

“I watched this past Junior Grand Prix,” Avery blushed, amazed their idol had watched. And a little horrified because they had done pretty badly. “Those announcers were assholes and so were those judges.” Yuri sighed. “Did you hear the comments after the short program? Is that what tripped you up in the free skate?”

Avery shrugged, finishing their stretches to take the ice. “It’s hard to say what did it.”

Yuri took that as a yes but didn’t press. They weren’t Viktor and they weren’t Yuuri and they weren’t even Mila. Instead, they finished stretching and joined Avery on the ice and helped them clean up some jumps, trying to help teach the younger skater a more complex jump but doing pretty badly. Yuri had to hand it to Viktor and Yuuri, not to mention Yakov and Lilia; coaching was hard.

There wasn’t much else of consequence said, both skaters deciding they’d spilled their hearts enough for one day. After a while, Yuri told Avery they should stop for the day and both skaters went their separate ways after trading promises to stay in touch better in the time leading up to Yuri’s move.

“Good luck, with Rome,” Avery said, not knowing that Yuri already had plans to go there with Beka.

“Thanks.” Yuri blushed, not realizing Avery had just meant good luck making plans they didn’t know were already made.

Yuri waved goodbye, heading in the opposite direction as Avery. They were glad they’d run into the younger skater but they were also left with some hard truths they’d been trying to ignore.

The things they were choosing wouldn’t be easy but Yuri was pretty sure they were ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually added after I wrote the rest of this fic for two reasons. One, I like Avery. Two, they're gonna be in the aforementioned epilogue-like fic so I wanted them to actually be shown to interact with Yuri after their initial meeting. 
> 
> I imagine their relationship to be what Yuuri and Viktor's would have been if they didn't fall in love. One is kind of a huge fan of the other but as they become friends, there is a mutual sort of exchange of feelings and emotions. It's basically supposed to be non-romantic part of Viktor and Yuuri's relationships plus Yuri's relationship with Mila, expect Yuri is the older one. Which I literally state in this chapter so I don't need to tell you that. It's really early in the morning right now and I'm losing my mind so I'll be quiet now. >__<


	7. Nieces and Nephews

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri has choices to make, ones they should have made weeks ago but... well, they were bad at making choices.

When Otabek had said that maybe Yuuri and Viktor wanted some free babysitting, Yuri had thought it was a pretty funny joke but as they watched Viktor and Yuuri wave goodbye while Noa and Andrew stood on either side of Yuri, they realized that maybe that hadn’t been as much of a joke as Otabek had meant it to be. 

“So, what do you two do for fun?” Yuri asked because while they had gotten pretty used to working with kids at the rink and in the studio, they didn’t really know what kids did outside of practice. It wasn’t like they had much of a better idea given their childhood had really only been practice and competitions. 

“Andrew likes to color.” Noa smiled, already steering Andrew towards the kitchen table. “I have studying I need to do.”

“But it’s summer.” Yuri followed Noa as she grabbed crayons and paper for Andrew, setting the small boy up at the table. Yuri was surprised by the level of self-sufficiency she showed but they also recognized it because they’d seen it not only in themselves but in a lot of their rinkmates. 

“I like studying,” Noa explained, heading towards the bookcase that sat full in the living room, the contents a mixture or Russian, Japanese, and English. “I’m learning Japanese and Russian from Dad and math from Papa.”

“Really?” Yuri didn’t want to say they’d thought Viktor was stupid, obviously, he was smart in a lot of ways, but they’d never have guessed math was his strong suit. “Wait, Kats– Yuuri is teaching you Russian?” Noa nodded, “But Viktor is the Russian!”

Noa set her books down and Yuri took a seat between her and Andrew. She seemed unsure about what she was going to say, finally lowering her voice and leaning closer to Yuri. “He’s not a very good teacher.”

“But he’s teaching you math?” Yuri was doing their best to not laugh. “And he’s a skating coach?”

“He’s good at that stuff.” Noa flipped open a textbook that looked too advanced for an eight-year-old. “But he’s bad at teaching language.” 

“Well, I could teach you Russian.” Yuri wasn’t about to claim Yuuri’s Russian was bad, he’d been learning for years, but it seemed like a waste to not have a native speaker teach Noa. She had enough family that was from Russia. 

“Well…”

“What?”

Noa looked down at her book, “Dad said you were a worse teacher than Papa.”

“Katsudon said what about me?” After Viktor failed miserably as a tutor, Yuri had been the one to take over. yuri tried to ignore the fact that that had ended just as spectacularly and then Mila had taken over. “Well, maybe he’s a little right… but that’s just because he’s a bad learner!” Noa giggled, Andrew, looking up at them with interest in his eyes. “Also I was sixteen!”

Noa turned to her math without making a comment and Yuri watched her until he started feeling bad about his own abilities in math, turning instead to watch Andrew.

“So, do you guys have any friends?” Yuri kicked themselves, realizing how silly that sounded. 

“Yep.” Noa smiled, “Everyone on my rugby team is really nice and I wish I lived closer to them.”

“What about in school?”

She shrugged, “I have people I hang out with but we’re not that close.”

“Why not?”

“A lot of the kids think I’m weird because I go to a different class during math. And the kids in my math class call me a baby even though they’re only a year older than me.” She glared at her textbook, but it was obviously not directed at the math. The math seemed to be the one thing Noa wasn’t annoyed about in school. “And a lot of the boys make fun of me because I’m the tallest in my class.”

“I remember what that was like.” Yuri laughed lightly, “Only I had the opposite problem.” She looked at them questioning, “I was really short until I was, like, sixteen.” 

“So you don’t mind being tall.” 

Yuri didn’t think they were all that tall but to say they were completely comfortable in their own body would be a lie. That said, they didn’t know if Noa needed to hear about all their insecurities. 

“I got used to it.”

“Do you like being tall?”

Yuri shrugged, “I don't know, I kind of liked how I used to look even if people were always calling me things like ‘Russian Fairy’ which was kind of annoying… It’s complicated.”

“So do you not like how you look?” Yuri was distinctly uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. They were starting to think Noa somehow took after Viktor when it came to striking up friendly conversation about people’s insecurities and deepest fears.

“I don’t know… it’s complicated.” They repeated. “I don’t know how much you really know about… gender, but I have some issues with that.”

“I know about gender.” Noa smiled at Yuri, “There’s a kid in my class who uses the same words as you.”

“Words…? Oh, like they?”

“Yah, those. I don’t remember what they’re called.”

“Pronouns.” Yuri supplied, thinking back to the conversation they’d had with Avery a year ago. Things had really changed if Noa was already being exposed to this whereas both Yuri and Avery had talked about never hearing any of this until later in life. For Avery, they’d been lucky enough to learn about it during middle school but then there was Yuri, trying their best at nineteen to figure out what the hell was wrong with them. 

“Okay. But what does that have to do with being tall?”

“You know how the boys make fun of you for being tall?” She nodded, “Well, that’s because people can be kind of dumb about what they think people should look like so when I got taller… I guess I fit more into what boys are supposed to look like but I didn’t feel like a boy, so it was confusing.” 

Noa made a sound like she understood and Yuri suspected she did. She seemed pretty smart but also hyperaware of the world around her. 

“Well, Andrew, what about you? You have any friends?” 

The boy shrugged and Yuri was struck, not for the first time, by how quiet the boy was. His sister seemed to do the talking for the both of them and Yuri wasn’t sure whether that was a product of Andrew’s reserved personality of if it was the other way around. 

“Andrew, talk to Tedya,” Noa commanded, using an authoritative voice Yuri hadn’t heard from the girl until now. It was definitely sisterly but it also had a twinge of something parental in it. Maybe self-sufficient wasn’t the right word for Noa. Yuri didn’t have a word for what she was but they wanted something that implied the level of care Noa apparently was used to giving to her brother. 

“I have friends.” He offered.

“You’re in preschool, right?” He nodded, “Is your class big?”

“There are fifteen kids.” 

“And how many of them are your friends?”

Andrew paused in his work for a moment, looking up from the drawing to stare at Yuri. “Fifteen.” 

Yuri blinked at the boy for a while before Noa finally spoke.

“Andrew, you’ve never told me about your friends.”

“You didn’t ask.”

Noa sighed, sounding too much like a parent for Yuri’s liking and so before she could speak, Yuri stepped in.

“Andrew, everyone here wants to hear about you.” Yuri had no clue how Noa and Andrew were related in this moment. She was so sure of herself when she spoke and then there was Andrew. Maybe this was what Noa was like at this age too. “I love you and I know you Dad and Papa love you and want to hear all about your day.”

Yuri could understand what Andrew felt, a little bit. They’d never been one to talk much about themselves and part of that was because it never felt like anyone was listening. Their grandpa and mom listened but they lived so far away and Yuri had been left with mostly strangers. Many of the kids were either envious or scared of them. And nobody around Yuri really opened up, expect maybe Georgi but he’d never really been someone Yuri looked up to even if they were more than happy to hear the older man’s advice now, so they’d never really learned how to talk about themselves for real. Even Mila had been closed off during childhood, though she did a good job of pretending she wasn’t.

Then Otabek appeared in Yuri’s life with an understanding silence that pulled the words out of them and made them feel truly listened to. Then they realized that, maybe, everyone had been ready to listen but they’d just not noticed. 

Sometimes you just need someone to tell you people were listening for you to believe it. 

“Okay,” Andrew responded.

“I’m serious.” Yuri pointed at themselves with a cocky smile on their face. “I know about these things. I’ve known Viktor and Yuuri for years and those two can’t get enough of talking about you two. You guys are practically the only thing they talk about anymore.” 

Andrew didn’t respond but Yuri saw him smile at his paper and felt a little better. They were pretty good at this whole kid thing.

“Do you have any friends?” Noa asked, seeming to have abandoned her work in favor of talking to Yuri. 

“I do.” Yuri smiled. “A lot of them, actually. Mostly thanks to your dads.”

“Really?”

“Yah, they sort of forced me to talk to people. Also Mila, she and her friends once forced me to contact a bunch of my opponents after I asked her to help me find Beka.”

“Who’s Beka?”

“My boyfriend.” Yuri smiled, pulling out their phone and scrolling through Instagram for a good picture of them with the shorter man. “Here he is.”

“He’s very serious.” Noa squinted at the picture and Andrew glanced up long enough for Yuri to show him too. 

“He can be. Really, he’s just always nervous and it makes him seem serious.” Yuri found they couldn't stop smiling. “He’s also really cool. He rides a motorcycle and he’s a DJ. Do you know what a DJ is?” Noa shook her head. “Well, he goes to dance clubs, that’s where people go to dance and stuff, and he plays the music. It’s really cool. He likes a lot of cool music and he knows so much about it. And he’s got all these friends from Almaty, that’s where he’s from, who are also DJs and they all look super scary but they’re all, like, giant teddy bears.” 

Yuri knew they were blabbering but they couldn’t help themselves. 

“But they’re all really tough and really good friends. One time, one of them got in a bad spot because of some dumb stuff,” Some punks had decided they didn’t like how the DJ had looked at one of their girlfriends which was dumb because said DJ was gay and so was definitely not looking at that guy's girlfriend. “And Otabek swooped in to save him. I was there and it was really awesome.” They glossed over the part where Otabek got in a pretty bad fist fight, had nearly been arrested, and had had to skate in Four Continents with a black eye. Even with the black eye, he’d still taken gold that year so Yuri was just a little proud. It had also been a little hot. 

“He sounds nice.” Noa nodded, “I want to meet him.”

Yuri’s smile dropped, “I’m sure he’d love you both… he’s great with kids because he has a little sister. 

For a moment, Yuri thought about their choices. They’d still been trying to decide between two apartments. Both were both similar but one was a little bigger, enough room for two people to live if they didn't mind being a little cramped. They didn’t even know why they’d kept that one on the list, it was more expensive than the other apartment, but it had made its way to the top two. 

In that moment of thought, Yuri realized they been stupid before and decided, now, that they’d fix their idiocy.

They'd rent the more expensive apartment and now found they were nervously excited about their and Otabek’s trip to Rome. 

Yuri smiled, “Actually… I think you’ll get to meet him very soon.”

“Good.” Noa smiled in a way that reminded Yuri of Yuuri and, honestly, it was the most comforting thing in the world. To think Yuri would be comforted by a smile from an eight-year-old but here they were. 

“Okay!” Yuri clapped their hands together. “Now how about I make you guys some of the best pirozhki in the world?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boo Pa Dop, can you say 'Noa seems much older than she is'? 
> 
> I can't write kids, I'm sorry. I'm the youngest of my immediate family and the third youngest of my extended family so I really haven't had a lot of exposure to kids other than when I was a kid. I try to do research but there's only so much research you can do on "what is a child?" and "what does an eight-year-old sound like?"


	8. Maybe We're Not Forever But For Now is Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri and Otabek finally go to Rome.

The wine tasting had been fun, even if they’d both decided they kind of hated wine. The Borghese gallery had been boring in Yuri’s opinion but Otabek had been so enthralled that Yuri didn’t say a thing, instead spending the time looking at Otabek looking at the art.

Walking around The Roman Forum had been fun but Yuri was honestly glad when they sat down for dinner with a bottle of wine, they’d decided to give the wine one more chance, and a nice dinner holding hands on top of the table because they could.

Otabek was rubbing circles into the back of Yuri’s hand and Yuri was honestly so happy with the quiet between them right then. It was comfortable and reminded Yuri why they loved Otabek so much. He was easy to love because there were just so many great things about Otabek.

The way his hair curled more than he liked and so he would often straighten it but in humid weather, it would rebel and go back to its natural state. The way that if it was Yuri, he didn’t mind not straightening it. The way that he hummed when Yuri pulled their fingers through his hair or rubbed their hand against his freshly shaved undercut.

Yuri liked the way he smiled at them and only them.

Otabek was comfortable in this place too, because he couldn’t help but love the person sitting across from him. He loved the smiles that Yuri gave so freely to him. He loved the way Yuri opened up and let their emotions flow out, unafraid and not even trying to hide. He loved the fact that Yuri had decided to grow their hair out and to hell with what other people thought. He loved that if one day Yuri decided they didn’t like their long hair, they’d just cut it because they did what they wanted.

Yuri decided they still hated wine but Otabek found he didn’t hate it so much when pompous people weren’t telling him what to do and what to like. They both still agreed that there was better tasting booze and that there were definitely better ways to get drunk.

“So, you decided on an apartment?” Otabek asked once their dinners arrived and they had to break their hold on each other in favor of actually eating.

“Yep.” Yuri knew they’d have to ask the question they wanted to ask at some point, but they were still trying to find the right time.

“And you’re flying from Rome to New York, right?”

“Yep.”

“What about Potya and Diana?”

“Yakov brought them with him when he went to visit the Katsuki's.” The paperwork to get two cats from Russia to America had been annoying but the paperwork to get said cats in with someone who wasn’t their owner had been hellish. “And since I’m letting him stay in my apartment while he’s there, it’s the least he can do to watch my two babies. I mean, really, he’ll be the first one to sleep in my apartment.”

“Other than the last tenants,” Otabek smirked and Yuri threw their napkin at him, ignoring the look from the old couple next to them.

“Shut up, you know what I mean.”

Otabek chuckled and offered Yuri their previously thrown napkin, “I’m sure Potya and Diana will be horribly traumatized by not having their…”

“Mom.” Yuri smiled, knowing banter could be hard when everyone, themselves included, was still sensitive about Yuri’s gender. “I’m their mom and nobody can tell me otherwise.”

“Okay, I’m sure they’ll both be traumatized by being without mommy.” Otabek thought for a moment, “But if you’re mom, then who’s dad? Do they even know their dad? Dads? Do they have the same father?”

“Sure they do,” Yuri thought for a moment, “I’m pretty sure you’re their dad.”

“You’re telling me we have children and you never told me?”

Finally, Yuri couldn’t keep up the playful banter and found themselves lost in laughter. They knew they weren’t the only one who could make Beka show this side of him but Yuri did know they were one of the few.

Otabek was just happy to see Yuri laugh like this, without restraint or care and without even seeming to notice the looks they were getting from the surrounding tables.

As Yuri’s laughter finally tapered down, Otabek noticed a shift in their face. Their humor suddenly switched to anxious contemplation and Otabek was suddenly wary. Maybe they’d not been as okay with those jokes as originally thought? Or maybe they had something else on their mind?

Part of Otabek wondered if Yuri was going to break up with him but he pushed that away, knowing that was just his irrational side speaking.

“Hey, Beka…”

“What is it?”

“You know… I was kind of stupid… And selfish.” Yuri bit their lip. “But I’ve just been afraid of us.”

“Afraid… of us?” Otabek wasn’t sure he followed but he also wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“I’ve never really noticed how much commitment, like emotional commitment, scares me. I didn’t until I realized how I felt about you… or, no, I guess it was when I realized you felt the same.” They just needed to admit everything, “The only reason I asked you out was because my fear of being with you was outweighed by my fear of being without you. But sometimes I still get scared because you’re so committed and I’m not sure I can match that.”

“Yura, you don’t have to match my commitment.”

“I know but I’m always scared to make another move because I just… when I see commitment I want to run the other way. I don’t know why, it’s just the truth. That’s why I didn’t tell you what I was thinking, didn’t even mention it. I was afraid of us being more than I could handle.”

“We can go slower if you want.” Otabek looked worriedly at Yuri, wondering if maybe he’d overstepped their bounds recently. He knew he didn’t always understand relationship cues – whether it be because he just had trouble with that or because he honestly couldn’t help but throw himself wholeheartedly in every relationship – and that maybe he’d been too forward by accident.

“No, it’s not that…” Yuri took a deep breath, centering themselves for the thing they needed to _just fucking say already._ “I didn’t tell you I was thinking of moving to New York because I didn’t want to ask you to move with me too because the idea of asking someone to move to the other side of the world with me was too much.”

“Yura…” Otabek scrunched his eyebrows together in a way that momentarily distracted Yuri because they found the expression so cute. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

Yuri felt their face turning red. “Yah, I guess I am. The thing it, I was afraid but I really care about you and I don’t really think I want to be even longer distance. I know it might be hard to move and whatnot, but my apartment is big enough for two people and I’m sure Yuuri or Viktor would coach you or at least know someone in the area who could.”

“Yes.”

Yuri blinked at Otabek, “Yes?”

He nodded, “I want to move in with you. And don’t worry about coaches…” Otabek’s face turned red and he suddenly found something very interesting to look at on his plate. “I called Viktor for advice and he offered to coach me if I moved to New York.”

“That ass.” Yuri smiled despite their insult, “Going behind my back to steal my boyfriend from me.”

Otabek smiled and reached out for Yuri’s hand. They held tightly to Otabek as they smiled.

“Yura…” Otabek knew he’d said it before but it felt different somehow. “I love you.”

Yuri smiled softly, “I love you too.”

At that Otabek turned red and kept looking from side to side, Yuri worrying that his boyfriend what going to pass out.

“What’s wrong?” Otabek mumbled something under his breath and Yuri squeezed his hand. “Louder.”

“You’ve never said I love you.”

“Sure I have…” Yuri blinked, “Haven’t I?”

Otabek shook his head. “Not to my face.”

“Oh god, Beka, I’m so sorry.” Yuri leaned over the table to kiss Otabek a few times, much to the chagrin of the other diners. “I love you so much.”

“I know.” Otabek chuckled, “You never needed to say it.”

“But I want to.” Yuri knew they were making a scene as big as Viktor or Yuuri would and Yuri wasn’t even drunk. Okay, maybe that was a lie and they’d had more of that wine than they meant to. And maybe they were more like Viktor and Yuuri than they would ever admit. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“Yura, calm down.” Otabek blushed and Yuri smirked, “We’re in public. What if someone heard? We’re not exactly public yet.”

Okay, maybe the wine was hitting them all at once but they didn’t care. “Let them listen. Who here even speaks Russian?” They leaned over the table to kiss Otabek again before whispering into his lips, “I love you.”

And, well, even without the alcohol that was true and Yuri was happy they’d found someone they could really love if not forever, then at least for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curly hair HC thanks to altin-s
> 
> \---
> 
> Thanks for sticking around! One more one-shot to go before Yuri's arc is completed. At least, their first arc...
> 
> I like the idea that Yuri and Viktor are lightweights and get made fun of by their Russian friends. HC that Mila can drink anyone at that home rink in Russia under the table. The only person she's met who can match her drinking is Yuuri. 
> 
> My HC for top lightweights: Viktor, Yuri, Seung-gil, Mickey, and Leo.  
> My HC for top heavyweights: Yuuri, Mila, Sara, Emil, and Guang Hong.
> 
> \---
> 
> The next fic will be a one shot that is written but not edited. I'm visiting a friend (actually one of the two this series is dedicated to) so I won't be able to edit until Tuesday but I think I'll be able to post Tuesday as well.


End file.
